


Memories

by ateam7



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:24:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22990183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ateam7/pseuds/ateam7
Summary: Hey Ali, remember when...?
Relationships: Ashlyn Harris/Ali Krieger
Comments: 5
Kudos: 62





	Memories

_“Hey Ali, remember when you spilled your noodles?”_

It was 2011, well not yet, but it was about to be. Ali had decided to stay in the dorms for winter break, much to the protest of her family. She had to stay focused for her last semester(well, hopefully if she could graduate early), and this meant that no distractions could come into place. It was not that Ali did not like going home, it was that she did not want to hear her mother crowd her with questions and she most certainly did not want to hear about Kyle’s non-stop stories about how much he absolutely loved his college experience. To say that Ali’s college did not live up to her expectations is an understatement, she simply despised dorming. She hated the smells of alcohol and whatever other contamination was going around, and she hated the way others slammed their doors too loud or ran in the hallways. On this particular New Year’s Eve night, she hated the way everyone was screaming in their rooms and no one on staff seemed to do anything to stop it.

Careful not to burn her fingers, Ali held the cup with her fingertips since it was still very warm from the microwave. She mentally criticized herself for not remembering to bring the lid to her tupperware with her, but she was absolutely not going to walk back to her room(which was at the end of the hallway) and then walk back to the lounge(which would cause her to walk by the small crowd that was forming in said hallway). Eyes trained on her noodles, Ali quietly shuffled through the all too loud residents. Little did she realize that focusing on not spilling her food would cause her to do just that, and she felt someone bump into her side.

“Hey, watch it! You got your food on my shoes!”

“Well if you hadn’t bumped into me, then this wouldn’t have happened.” Ali quickly snapped as she turned to the voice.

She met a pair of bright, hazel eyes with lids drooping slightly from what she assumed was too much to drink, she didn’t care to figure it out. What she did notice, is the way the eyes widened when they saw her.

“Oh, uh, I uh- I’m sorry it was my fault. You’re right.” The once confident voice mumbled. “Are you okay?” She said, pointing to Ali’s shirt.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ali started, as she shuffled from one foot to the other. She glanced around and darted her eyes back to her room, trying to figure out the quickest way to get around the sea of people.

“Is that all you’re eating? It’s New Years Eve!” The girl exclaimed to Ali. Ali nodded in response.

“I had some leftovers, and I figured I would make use of it. Consider this as me digesting the old shit from this year, and making it new shit for next year.” Ali joked. The laugh that came from the hazel-eyed girl was not what surprised her, no, instead it was the butterflies that flew in her stomach because of it that did.

“Well, I just ordered some pizza.” The girl replied. She then leaned to whisper to Ali, “If you follow me, we can share it. It has to be secret, you know how college students get with free food.”

Ali blushed slightly at the close proximity in which the girl talked to her, and all she could do was smile softly and nod in response.

“Well, let’s go!” The hazel-eyed girl gently held Ali’s hand and guided her through the hallway. Spilled noodles long forgotten.

Hours of glances, laughter, teasing, and eating later, Ali leaned back against the bed frame of the surprisingly clean room. She was smiling widely at a joke the girl had made, of what she could not remember, but it was the expressions she used that made Ali want to do anything to hear it again. She took in her surroundings around her, and noted the pictures on her wall, of what seemed to be friends, family, possibly a boyfriend? Ali was cut out of her thoughts when she heard a countdown in the hallway, and turned to see the girl looking at her intensely, flashing a gentle smile that showed her one-dimple.

“10, 9, 8..” Ali heard muffled outside her door.

“It’s Ashlyn by the way.”

“7, 6, 5…”

“Huh?”

“4, 3..”

“Ashlyn. My name is Ashlyn.” Ashlyn said as she held a hand out.

“2, 1”

“Ali. My name is Ali.” Ali grinned, as she shook Ashlyn’s hand, laughing at the formality.

“Happy New Year!” They both shouted to each other at the same time, and Ali’s laugh got louder.

Ali was sure that her and Ashlyn were going to see a lot more of each other before she graduated. Ashlyn was sure, however, that she fell for Ali right away.

\----------------------

  
_“Hey Ali, remember when you thought I had a boyfriend?”_

Ali sat by the school fountain, biting her fingernail. Why does it matter anyway? She thought to herself. Ashlyn spent a lot of time with Rick, so what? She talks about him all the time, so what? Her and Ashlyn had hung out almost every day, if not during the day then in the dorms in one of their rooms. Today, their hang out had to be cut short because Rick had called and of course Ashlyn had to go see him because it was an emergency, but she would be right back. Ashlyn gave a quick hug and went off, and Ali, well, Ali felt a pain in her chest.

Am I jealous? For the two months that her and Ashlyn had been friends, Ali had assumed that there was something going on with Ashlyn and Rick. At first it did not bother her, but then the more she saw the way Ashlyn would look at him, the way she would laugh at his jokes, and the way he would smile back at her, the more it started to bother Ali. Just then her phone dinged with a message, and her heart skipped at the name.

“On my way back!” It read. Ali quickly typed a response back, her debate before forgotten.

“What’s got you all smiling?” Ali heard next to her. She turned to see Sydney walk towards her, textbooks under her arms.

“You look like you won the lottery!” Sydney laughed as she came and patted Ali’s head. Ali only rolled her eyes in response.

“Are you sleeping in our room tonight or Dom’s?” Ali said back, smirking.

“You’ll see.” Sydney laughed back.

Ali’s phone rang again with a message, and her heart sang. Ali frowned. I have feelings for Ashlyn. In that moment, Ali felt someone poke her and she turned to be wrapped up in the same arms.

“Sorry Princess, Rick needed help carrying stuff into his room. I told him I’ll help him finish the rest later tonight.”

Ali tried to ignore the burn she felt.

“I don’t get it Ali, what’s wrong?” Ashlyn all but exclaimed back at her. During spring break, Ali almost cut contact with Ashlyn completely. Texts were barely answered, and calls were ignored.

“Did I do something?” Ashlyn asked. As soon as she was back from her camping trip with Rick, Ashlyn went straight to Ali’s room to see what was wrong. Ali simply opened the door, and moved to lean against her bed.  
“No, you didn’t. People just grow apart Ashlyn, okay?” Ali snapped back, rolling her eyes.

“Grow apart? Ali, we are always together! The only thing that happened was that I went camping with Rick for spring break!” Ashlyn exclaimed. Ali rolled her eyes again at the mention of Rick’s name.

“Just leave Ashlyn! Fuck, leave me alone!” Ali said as tears formed in Ashlyn’s eyes. Ashlyn ran her hands through her blonde hair as she tried to figure out what happened. She was gone for a week, did she say something? Maybe Ali was mad that Rick didn’t invite her? Ashlyn tried to look into Ali’s eyes, as if an answer was there, but Ali was too busy staring at the ground.

“Ali...I can’t leave. You’re my best friend. I don’t...I don’t understand. Please help me understand.”

Ali shook her head slightly, as she took in a deep breath. Ashlyn walked towards her and tilted her chin up so that she could look in her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Ali?”

Ali’s lip whobbled and she looked anywhere but at Ashlyn. If I don’t say it now, then I never will.

“What’s wrong is that I have feelings for you, Ash, and it-it hurts.” Ali started. “I like you, and there’s nothing I can do. I know you don’t like me back, it’s okay, it is. I know you don’t and I know you and Rick are dating or whatever and-”

“You think Rick and I are dating?” Ashlyn cut Ali off. Ali sniffled and felt warm tears on her cheeks. She shrugged back at Ashlyn.

“Or if you’re not dating, then you like him or he likes you or...or-”

Ashlyn laughed, she laughed so hard that Ali nearly forgot what was going on. But Ali would not forget, and instead Ali turned away more. Ashlyn then stopped and gently turned Ali back.

“Al...Rick and I have never and will never date.”

“Oh.” Ali murmured.

Ashlyn stared down at Ali. She tilted her chin back up.

“Ali, look at me.” Ali looked up at Ashlyn, she felt heat rise to her cheeks as she realized that her confession was empty. Ashlyn was not dating Rick, she said her feelings for nothing. What have I done? Ashlyn seemed to see the panic rise in Ali’s eyes.

“Al, I don’t have feelings for Rick.” Ashlyn couldn’t help but laugh again. “Ali, I have feelings for you.”

“You do?” Ali’s eyes widened.

“Ali, I’ve liked you since...well since we shared pizza in my room on New Year’s Eve.” Ashlyn said, smiling.

“Oh...uh...well, I wasn’t expecting this. So what now? I mean, I, uh, I like you too Ashlyn, obviously. I mean, was it obvious? I’m sorr-”

Ali was cut off by Ashlyn wrapping her arms around her. Ali nestled into Ashlyn’s neck.

“I’m sorry Ash.” She whispered.

Ashlyn pulled back slightly.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you away, that was just stupid. It’s just, I thought you were dating Rick and I got jealous and I-”

Ali was cut off by the feeling of Ashlyn’s lips on hers. She was still at first, but as soon as she realized what was happening, she softly kissed Ashlyn back.

“Trust me Ali, you have nothing to be jealous of.” Ashlyn said. Ali blushed, and buried her head into Ashlyn’s chest.

“However, if you think I won’t tease you about this for years to come, then you’re wrong.” Ashlyn teased. All Ali could do was smile and kiss Ashlyn again.

\----------------------

_“Hey Ali, remember when I asked you to marry me?”_

Ashlyn was acting weird this morning, this much Ali knew. Their morning cuddle had been cut short because of Ashlyn quickly getting out of bed, saying that she had a lot to do today and had to get started. Ali just snuggled into Ashlyn’s pillow, and fell back asleep once she felt Ashlyn kiss her head to say that she was going to get some stuff and that she loved her.

Ali knew not to be worried about these things, after being with Ashlyn for over three years, she had grown to know and love her habits. Recently, sometimes Ashlyn would want to stay wrapped up for hours, as if talking to herself in her head. Or Ashlyn would pull Ali to sit on her lap on the couch, saying something along the lines of that she just wanted Ali closer. One of the other weird habits that Ashlyn has gotten is that sometimes Ali would make a joke, and Ashlyn would not laugh at all, instead, she would just stare at Ali with so much love in her eyes, that Ali would then joke that she only looks at Logan like that.  
Ali had a day off work, and she realized Ashlyn did too. She didn’t think to ask Ashlyn where she was going before she left. She sent Ashlyn a message, and then went to get dressed.

“Be back soon babe! I got us some breakfast/lunch since we woke up late today. ;)”

Ali blushed at Ashlyn’s text and glanced over at their unmade bed. After she finished getting dressed, she went and cleaned their room, making sure to change their sheets. She then went to sit on the couch and waited for Ashlyn to come back.

It wasn’t too long later when she heard Logan barking at their door, and Ashlyn walking through, bags in hand.

“Hi baby!” She called out. Ali quickly walked over to help.

“Hi!” Ali said back, kissing her quickly.

“I was talking to Logan, but hi to you as well.” Ashlyn teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her forehead.

Ali laughed and set the bags down on the table.

“Well keep talking to Logan then, don’t mind me, the girlfriend, who will just sit in the corner.” Ali teased as she took out the food.

“Maybe ask Logan if she wants to go with you on the ski trip with Rick instead of me!”

Ali turned back to Ashlyn, but she quickly stopped when she saw the serious look in Ashlyn’s eye. Ali quickly felt concerned and reached out to hold Ashlyn’s hand.

“Babe, you know I’m only joking right?” Ali asked worried.

Ashlyn smiled in response. She took a deep breath and kissed Ali’s cheek.

“I love you, Ali.”

“I love you too. I also love that you brought back my favorite pasta!” Ali said, glancing back at the food. “Which, is getting cold by the way.”

When she turned around, she was met with Ashlyn staring up at her.

Ali gasped and felt tears in her eyes. Ashlyn held a box in her hand. What Ashlyn said next Ali couldn’t remember, she was trying to focus on her heartbeat and the way Ashlyn looked at her like she never loved anything more.

  
“Ali…?” Ashlyn whispered. Suddenly everything felt too much, and Ashlyn quickly tried to stop herself from crying from Ali not answering. Ali quickly went back into focus, tears streaming down her face.

“Ashlyn, yes!” Ali exclaimed, laughing as she fell into Ashlyn.

“I’m sorry babe, I was too excited to even speak.” Ali giggled as she kissed Ashlyn everywhere she could. Laughter and tears were met with kisses and hugs that were only broken apart by Logan.

“Can you say the speech again?”

Ashlyn swore she would say it at any time that Ali asked.

\----------------------

_“Hey Ali, remember when we got married?”_

Ashlyn almost threw up on their wedding day. She wanted everything to be perfect for her, for Ali.

“Drink water Ash, I swear you look like you saw a ghost.” She hears Rick say before he shoves a bottle of water into her hands. She gulps it down and then begins to walk around the room as she waits to be called to go out.

“Ash..Ash..Ashlyn!” Rick’s shout makes Ashlyn stop.

“Why are you so nervous?”

“I can’t lose her Rick.” Ashlyn whispers.

“Well, it’s good that you’re marrying her then!” Rick jokes, punching Ashlyn in the arm.

“No...Rick, I really can’t lose her. I’ll never survive.” Ashlyn sits down on a chair, and puts her head in her hands.

“Rick, she’s everything. I can’t mess this up. I love her so much.” Ashlyn starts to sob. Rick quickly gets on his knees in front of her.

“Hey look at me.” Ashlyn looks at him, tears in her eyes.

“You and Ali have what rarely is found. You guys are each other’s soulmate, Ashlyn. I’d do anything for a love like yours, and for a girl as hot as Ali.” Ashlyn rolls her eyes and pushes Rick as she stands up.

“She’s mine, asshole.”

“And she always will be. And you will always be hers too.” Rick says. Ashlyn nods.

“That is, unless you end up not going out there, in which case, I can take your place.” Rick adds again. Ashlyn only laughs and walks out in response.

“Not in this life, or any other one Rick!” She calls over her shoulder.

\----------------------

“That was the best day of my life, baby.” Ashlyn softly whispers to Ali as she holds her in her arms. The faint beeping of the machines next to her all but quiet.

“You’re everything to me, Ali. Thank you for everything. You’re my life always. I love you.”

“Even though I have grey hair?” Ali asks, looking up at her.

“Yes, babe, even though you have grey hair. Your bald spots though, that’s what we have to discuss.” Ashlyn says as Ali laughs back. Ashlyn smiles down at her and kisses her.

“Ash, I don’t know what to say...I don’t want to lea-” Ali starts to sob.

Ashlyn wraps her arms tight around Ali and kisses her head.

“We’ll always be together. You’re not leaving me. I’m not leaving you” Ashlyn says firmly.

“I know, I mean that I don’t want to d-”

Ashlyn kisses her. “We’ll always be together.” Ashlyn says again firmly. Ali snuggles further into Ashlyn’s chest, too tired to explain anymore. She assumes Ashlyn knows what she is going towards, she’s been in the hospital for a week, and at over eighty years old, there’s not much to help.

“I’m scared, Ash.” Ali sobs. Ashlyn kisses her head and tightens her grip.

“Don’t be scared, babe. I always have you. I’m so in love with you, Ali.” Ali only sobs more as Ashlyn kisses her.

“I will always be with you, Al. Don’t be scared.” Ali nods in response before she gives Ashlyn a kiss and snuggles further into her.

_“Hey Ali, remember when….”_

What the next memory was, Ali does not remember. She closes her eyes and feels Ashlyn’s slow, a little unsteady, heartbeat. She feels Ashlyn kiss her head between sentences, and she feels warm tears in her hair. She focuses on Ashlyn, the life they have, and the love they share. She isn’t sure if it’s minutes or hours, but eventually, she feels Ashlyn stop talking and she feels Ashlyn’s heart slow to the same beat as hers. Ali lets herself fall into a deep sleep, and when she opens her eyes, she looks around to see she is by a fountain, similar to the one at her college. She turns around and sees hazel eyes looking back at her, a smile on her face.

“I told you that I’d always be with you.” Ashlyn laughs, and Ali jumps onto her, kissing her deeply. Waking up forgotten for both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Would love thoughts!


End file.
